Home games at Reinhardt yield conference split capped by thrilling victory for men's squad

WALESKA – The Golden Eagles hoops teams hosted Central Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon at Reinhardt University, and the men's team picked up a thrilling 88-86 victory in a back-and-forth contest. Alijah Bennett knocked down two free throws after getting fouled on a drive to the basket with 3.0 seconds remaining, and Central Georgia Tech's desperation heave from near half court fell short to give the Golden Eagles (19-3, 9-3 GCAA) the win.

The women's team (2-17, 0-13) fell 72-55 to Central Georgia Tech (14-7, 10-4). Amber Mendes led the way for the Lady Golden Eagles with 22 points.

The men's game saw 12 lead changes, with nearly all coming in the second half. Chattahoochee Tech trailed 45-43 at halftime after a CGT (15-9, 8-6) three-pointer from near half court at the buzzer, but retook the lead for the first time in the second half at 61-60 with 12 minutes remaining.

Inside the final minute, Brentine Taylor, the game-high scorer with 27 points, gave CGT its final lead at 86-85 with two free throws and 46.4 seconds remaining. After that, Chattahoochee Tech's Amonte Potter split a pair of free throws to tie, and Bennett sealed the game with two clutch foul shots in the final seconds.

Bennett finished with 22 points, and Alyja Hennings led the Golden Eagles with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting (4-of-6 from three-point range). Bennett was 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and added three assists. Potter finished with 18 points and three assists, also shooting 50 percent from the field (5-of-10) and from three (2-of-4). As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 12-of-24 (50 percent) from three and 28-of-60 (46.7 percent) overall from the floor. Elijah Robinson added seven points and seven rebounds.

The CTC women lost 72-55 to the CGTC ladies.

The teams will next be in action in GCAA play when they travel to East Georgia this Wednesday with tip-offs at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. in Swainsboro. Before their Monday night games this week, the East Georgia men were 10-11 and 6-6 in conference, and the women were 8-14 and 4-10.